“Love Is Stronger Than Death”
This phrase is written on a memorial marker at Christchurch Cathedral in Oxford. I wasn’t able to write much over the Easter season due to travel and adventures. For me, it was a time of living stories rather than writing about them. It’s never too late to ponder on the greatest sacrifice of all time. Jesus’ death and resurrection… it’s a timeless love story.
The Lenten practice is relatively new for me. The denomination I grew up in didn’t talk about it or acknowledge it really. I only knew that this was something other denominations practiced and my questionings were typically met with “we don’t agree with them”. I’m not belittling my denomination and it is nice to see them coming around. Back in the day, though, I wasn’t taught that there was any margin for consideration or attempts to understand or explain this liturgical practice of focusing on the impending death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was simply what others do.
Hints of spring arrive in England escorting fresh air and percolating the potential of life. Neighbors scurry about pruning their unattended gardens wrecked by winter’s slush. These days, the birds chirp a little louder and the sky seems a little bluer. The sun is beginning to stay awake longer making it possible for what was once hidden by winter’s protection to miraculously sprout in spring.
There are so many great posts about Easter out there. I’ve written a few myself. Well, that sounds a bit arrogant. So maybe they’re not great but I thought this Saturday would be a good opportunity to showcase the all in one place for future easy access. For selfish reasons perhaps but I hope others will like knowing they are all here as well. I’m also hoping other bloggers will link up with their All Things Easter posts below. I think it would be great to have a gallery of blogs with all the Easter fun and inspiration right here at our fingertips.
When our youngest daughter, Anna, was about 4, her forehead made unfortunate contact with the pedal on her older brother’s bicycle. I can’t remember how that happened exactly and honestly am struggling to visualize it but it happened nonetheless. It left a gaping wound on the left side of my beautiful baby’s forehead and as you can imagine, blood streamed down her face at record speed.
I’m trying to stay away from sugar so, this Easter, I’m saying a big “UMMM… NO” to my favorite Easter treat, yummy milk chocolate with the rich, gooey center Cadbury Cream Eggs. I’m drooling just thinking about them. But I’m giving a hearty “YES” to this Traditional Irish Lamb recipe for Easter Sunday.
This week’s #FridayFive prompt from my friend, Kelly at Mrs. Disciple is Easter. It was challenging for me, as it typically is, to reign in the ideas of what to write about. My heart and my brain go into overdrive and I usually end up writing close to three posts before I get a handle on which direction to go in. This one was no different.
Without believing in Jesus or believing we are sinners or believing what He did on the cross, life can be good. But because of the cross… we can do life well. Most importantly, we can love well.
Life can be good without the cross but it can be so much better because of the cross.
Love can be good without the cross but love can be great because of the cross.
It’s like the difference in eating a burger and Mom’s Sunday pot roast. Like the difference between a glass of Boone’s Farm and a New Zealand Pinot. It’s like the difference between watching an action movie on your iphone and watching it on a 60″ HDTV in hyper color.
Because of the cross…
Those four words are packed with so much more than good.
Life is just better, because of the cross.
But Jesus is not here. He was raised, just as He said He would be. Come over to the grave, and see for yourself. Matthew 28:6 (The Voice)
“Jesus said, “It’s done . . . complete.” Bowing his head, he offered up his spirit.” John 19:30 (The Message)
And now we wait. We mourn. We gather. We wonder. We believe. We trust. We hope…
…that what He said He would do, He would do.
As we ENTER the weekend that Christians remember the death of Jesus and celebrate His resurrection, our church offers a self-guided journey through the stations of the cross. I went yesterday and took my time at each station and soaked in all I could. I didn’t want to miss a thing God had for me. It was very moving and meaningful.
My mind is cluttered these days, like eye balls spinning around in their sockets cluttered, so as I began this journey, I just felt that writing down single words would help me reign in my thoughts and enable me to process them in snippets. I didn’t think about the words; I just wrote them down as they came to me.
The stations along the journey were:
Hand Washing
Last Supper
Pieces of Silver
His Cross
Instruments of Suffering
Garden of Gethsemane
Oil and Spices
Torn Curtain
Our Cross
Here are my journey words that I wrote along the way through Christ’s journey as he made His way to the cross to die for me- and you.
Hands
Clean
Sanctified
Justified
Name
Seek
Open
Heart
Mind
Hear
Speak
Last
Eat
Prepare
Home
Depart
End
Love
Provision
Deliverance
Protection
Journey
Forgiveness
Release
Jesus
Hold
Thirty
Pieces
Silver
Wages
Slave
Betrayal
Prophecy
Weight
Wood
Wounds
Death
Willing
Suffering
Scars
Skin
Sinful
Spike
Scourging
Sacrifice
Sorry
Garden
Pray
Cup
Not My Will
Your Will
Done
Angel
Strength
Anguish
Smell
Spices
Oil
Burial
Royal
Lavish
King
Surrender
Torn
Open
Shake
Earth
Enter
ALL
Walk
Cross
Crucified
Christ
Nails
His Death
My Life
Grace
Receive
Redemption
Hope
Worship
Following Jesus is not about better, faster, stronger, higher. It is about recognizing our helplessness, admitting our guilt, and receiving His sacrifice on our behalf. Everything depends on the crucifixion and resurrection. Everything. That means nothing is left to depend on us. Grace is something we receive, not something we earn.
My prayer in sharing my journey is that someone will find something in these words that helps them take a step closer to the cross. If you’re reading this and you have questions about it, please ask. I’m no a theologian or scholar, but I know what I’ve experienced. If I don’t know the answer to your questions, I will do my best to find out. If I do know, I will answer with grace and non-judgmental love.
Empty Plate . Full Heart 